


Not Enough, Minus One

by greenshi



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Ghost!Adaine, Human AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, man idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenshi/pseuds/greenshi
Summary: It's another autumn in Elmville, and everything is normal. Fig is the same as she's always been, as are her friends, as is the town. The wind turns cold, just like normal. There are figures in the corner of your vision, just like normal. There's blood on the walls, just like normal.It's another autumn in Elmville, and nothing is normal.
Relationships: Adaine Abernant/Figueroth Faeth
Comments: 23
Kudos: 118





	1. Welcome To Elmville

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to the first multi-chapter fic I've written in Literal Years. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading!

Fig lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere USA. The town, Elmville, had a population of Not Enough and its attractions included Nothing and No One. It was empty, and it never changed; not its people, not its places, not its ideals. She had lived with and known the same small group of people all her life, and honestly, she was sick of it. Sure, she had friends who she loved, and sure, she had kind, mostly understanding parents, but still. This place was a total dump. 

“Then leave.” Kristen suggested.

“You know I can’t! If I leave, who’s going to take care of Gilear?” Fig argued.

“Gilear is a grown man, Fig. He can take care of himself.” Riz said. “Besides, even if he couldn’t, he’s got Hallariel now. You see the way she dotes on him.” 

Fabian roughly nudges Riz with his elbow. 

“Don’t remind me, The Ball.” he grumbled. Riz rolls his eyes. 

It was chilly fall evening. Fig and her friends (known around town as ‘The Bad Kids’) were at their usual spot, sitting around a rickety old bench far behind their old high school, Aguefort Academy. They had all graduated just a few months ago, and were now in the awkward transition period between childhood and adulthood. They all were (or at least Fig was) trying to figure out where to go from here, and so far no one had any real answers, just a bunch of half baked ideas.

“Y’know, we’ll have to leave once the band gets big.” Gorgug commented. 

“If the band gets big, you mean.” Fig muttered, slouching over in her seat and laying her head on her arms. “As for right now, no one listens or cares.”

“Hey, we listen to your music! And so does Ragh, and a few kids back at Aguefort I think?” Kristen chimed in.

“But that’s just more people from town! We need people on the outside, people we don’t already know. We released our last album online months ago, and we’ve heard nothing back. It’s bullshit!” Fig complained, flinging herself upright and wildly gesturing around. Gorgug placed a big hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. It worked, kind of. She put her hands down, opting to cross them stiffly while glaring at the table. 

“Yeah, I know it sucks now, but I’m sure if we keep playing, someone will notice.” Gorgug said, trying to be comforting. Fig sighed, then nodded.

“Yeah, maybe.”

The sound of a car rumbling down the road made Kristen turn her head anxiously and check if it was her parents. An old white van, just barely held together by duct tape and hope, drove down the road. A strange satellite was stationed on the roof, and a logo reading ‘Abnormal Ventures!!’ was painted on the side. Kristen relaxed and turned back, looking relieved but slightly annoyed.

“Maybe you should write songs about ghosts. People seem obsessed with them.” she muttered. 

“No way in hell I’m attracting more of those weirdos here. We’ve got enough as is.” Fig said.

While Elmville was small and empty, people did know about it for one reason. A few years back, around the same time Fig and her friends were just starting highschool, the daughter of some rich guy was found dead just outside of town. No one knows what happened to her, or who killed her, but ever since then there had been strange sightings in and around the town. Humanoid figures appearing in the corner of your vision, electronics turning on or off for no reason, sudden and severe feelings of fear or anxiety while out alone at night, etc, etc. It became a big deal for both the true crime and ghost hunting communities, meaning obnoxious dudes with semi-successful TV shows or Youtube channels came into town every so often to annoy locals. Business owners liked them enough for the extra cash, but most people in town made an effort to avoid them whenever possible. 

“Ugh. Hopefully they don’t bother my mom and dad too much. The last guys who came to town were total jerks.” Gorgug said. 

“You mean those ‘McKay Brothers’ from last month? God, yeah, they were the worst. They tried to force me to be on their dumb show. Just barely escaped with my life.” Fabian joked, giving a glance towards the motorcycle leaning against a nearby tree.

“You also nearly ran them over. For as much as you work on that thing, you still haven’t learned how to ride, huh?” Riz chastised. Fabian looked over at him, offended. 

“I-I, uh, I know...and I’m just fine, and, y’know, my depth perception, a-and -the roads! The roads are just terrible!” Fabian sputtered, trying to defend himself. All it did was make Kristen laugh at him. 

Suddenly, Fig felt her phone buzz. Her mom had texted her.

“hey sweetie working late again be sure to walk/feed baxter tonite thanks”

Frowning, she returned the phone to her pocket and reached for her skateboard from under her bench.

“I gotta go. Mom needs me to watch the dog tonight.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow?” Kristen asked.

“Like I got anything else to do.” Fig responded. With one last wave to the group, she grabbed the last of her things and rode down the old, cracked sidewalk towards home.

Passing by familiar homes and tall, old trees with dying leaves, Fig put in her earbuds and began blasting her music. As much as the ambient noise of autumn could be calming, the last thing she needed right now was to be alone with her thoughts. She kicked herself forward, letting out a cold breath. Winter would be there soon, which either meant begging for her mom’s car or walking through the cold on her way to band practice. Maybe Gorgug could give her a ride, but to be honest, his driving made her nervous. 

Arriving home, Fig threw down her bag on to couch. Baxter, her mom’s brown belgian tervuren, jumps at her excitedly. 

“Alright, okay, hi Bax. Calm down.” Fig struggled to say as the dog went to lick her face. With a bit of effort, Fig got Baxter leashed up, and pulled him outside. She had just made it down the street and around the corner before she saw something that made her deeply regret coming this way. Even through her music, she could hear that voice.

“You! You demon!”

Yelling from her doorstep was Mrs. Applebees, Kristen’s mom. Well, she was Kristen’s mom, up until Kristen ran away from home and hid out in Ragh Barkrock’s basement. Mrs. Applebees was always kind of known for being very religious and kind of crazy, but ever since Kristen left, it’s become much worse. Fig kept her head down, trying not to get into another fistfight with Mrs. Applebees. 

“You sinner! How dare you corrupt my daughter! You’re going straight to hell!” 

Fig’s grip on the dog leash tightened. She clenched her teeth and started walking faster. A chilly gust of wind came from behind, pushing her forward. As Fig walked around the corner, losing sight of the house, Mrs. Applebees returned inside, slamming the door shut behind her. It was then that she realized that her power had gone out for seemingly no reason. A gust of cold ran past her, sending a strange chill down her spine.

After rounding the final corner, Fig returned home. She pushed open the door, letting Baxter rush inside before her. She closed and locked the door before falling back against it, sighing. Baxter ran up to her, empty food bowl hanging from his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting to it.”

After giving Baxter his food and water, and eating a quick dinner of instant ramen, Fig went up to her room for the night. Her mom wouldn’t be home until way later anyway, so there was no use sticking around waiting for her. 

Her room was small and crowded, which was perfect. You couldn’t see the walls behind all of the band posters, and the floor was littered with the rough drafts of her song lyrics. Her bass rested against the corner of her messy bed, and stacked on top of her dresser were notebooks and empty soda cans. For a moment, Fig stared at the notebooks, considering whether to work on more songs or sleep. She yawned, and let sleep win, just this once. 

Next thing she knew, it was the middle of the night, and Baxter was barking. Her mom mustn’t have been home yet, since Baxter usually calms down when she’s around. Fig blinked her eyes open, squinting at some kind of light coming from the center of her room.

Wait, light?

Standing - no, hovering, in the center of Fig’s room, was a woman. Her hair, short and tidy, levitated outwards, like it was blowing in the wind in slow motion. She wore a well fitting uniform of some kind, with a blazer, tie, and skirt. Her expression was blank, leaving her mouth open slightly and her eyes open wide. Speaking of her eyes, they were glowing plain white, the only contrast to her translucent, pale blue body. 

A second later, the woman blinked. Her eyes stopped glowing, and had regained their irises and pupils. She was lowered to the ground gently, landing without a sound. She looked down at Fig, tilting her head in confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Fig’s scream.


	2. Your Name Sounds Familiar

“AAAAAAAAH!”

“Let me explain-”

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

Backing away and reaching around frantically, Fig grabbed the neck of her bass and held it in front of her like weapon. The woman just stood there, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“How? How the fuck did you get in my house? Who even are you?” Fig asked with a shaky voice. The woman furrowed her eyebrows.

“A ghost just appeared in your room, and that’s what you ask?” the woman said. Fig shook her head.

“Ghosts...ghosts aren’t real. You’re not real. You’re, like, uh...a dream! This is a dream, I’m dreaming, you’re not real.” Fig muttered, looking at the woman but more so talking to herself. The woman reached a hand forward, then hesitated.

“...Y’know, I would touch you to prove that I’m real, but I can’t touch people, so that’s...there’s gotta be some other way to convince you.” she said, pulling her hand back. “What will it take to convince you that I’m real?”

Fig just stared at the woman. Fearing that she would disappear if Fig looked away, she held eye contact as she pinched the back of her hand. Yup, nope, she felt that, so this wasn’t a dream. Crap.

“...Who are you?” Fig asked again. 

“I...My name is Adaine. Adaine Abernant. Are you Figueroth Faeth?”

“Fig. Just call me Fig.” 

That name, Adaine. It sounded familiar, but Fig couldn’t quite place it. Adaine. Adaine Abernant. Where had she heard that name before? Where-

No.

“No.” Fig mumbled.

“No?” Adaine asked. 

“No. You’re...See, now I know you’re fake. Adaine, that’s the girl that was murdered outside of town a few years back.” 

When Fig said that, Adaine looked surprised.

“Years? No, that can’t be right.”

“Why is that the part you take issue with?” Fig exclaimed. Adaine ignored her.

“It can’t have been that long ago, surely. A few days, maybe. A week at most, but even that’s a bit far fetched.” she explained. 

“That’s not- I don’t know why I’m still talking to you. You’re, like, a sleep paralysis demon, and now I’m going to ignore you and go back to sleep.” Fig ranted, putting down her bass. 

“Fig, just by looking at you, I can tell you that this isn’t sleep paralysis. Have you...ever actually had sleep paralysis?”

“Why the hell do you even know my name?” Fig shouted.

“I-I don’t know! I just do!” Adaine shouted back, beginning to panic a bit herself. “Why are you yelling?”

“I don’t know!” 

Downstairs, Fig heard the front door open. Her mom was home.

“Okay. Okay, okay, okay. You.” Fig mumbled, getting off of her bed. “You are coming with-”

As she spoke, she reached for Adaine’s arm. However, instead of feeling the texture of fabric and a solid arm, it was like she had put her hand through cold steam. She had completely passed through Adaine’s arm. Fig just stared at it, mouth agape. 

“I told you.” Adaine said. 

Before Fig could really process what was happening, the door to her room opened.

“Fig…? Sweetie, why are you still up?” Sandralynn asked, standing in the doorway. Fig jumped slightly, pulling her arm back. 

“Mom! I-I…”

Fig glanced between her mom and Adaine, confused. 

“Are...are you alright, Fig? You’re shaking.”

“I’m...Don’t you see her?” Fig asked, voice quiet.

Her mom walked towards her, completely passing through Adaine, as if she wasn’t there at all.

“See who? Did...did you have another nightmare?”

Fig looked over at Adaine, who just shrugged.

“Uh...yeah, that’s probably it. Sorry.” Fig mumbled. Her mom brought her into a tight hug.

“You don’t gotta apologize, kiddo. It’s alright.”

Fig rested her head on her mom’s shoulder. Through Sandralynn's hair, Fig could still see Adaine, who watched them hug for a moment, before quickly looking away with a pained expression. After a while, Fig’s mom let go.

“Do you need anything before I go off to bed?” 

Fig shook her head.

“I’ll be okay. G’night.”

“Good night.” 

With a small, comforting smile, Sandralynn left the room, shutting the door behind her. 

“...Your mom seems nice.” Adaine whispered, staring at the door with a thoughtful look on her face. Fig nodded. 

“So...you’re...” Fig said, keeping her voice down. Adaine looked down at her own hands.

“Dead, yes. You seem to have heard about it.”

Fig didn’t speak. She didn’t know what was happening, but for now, the best thing she could think of was to play along, at least until Adaine left.

“What happened to you?”

“I don’t know. To be honest, the whole thing is kind of a blur. I remember someone grabbing me, and being in a car for a long time. Then, some brief pain, before…” Adaine trailed off, trying to remember. “It...it was like being half asleep, I think. I was conscious, but I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing. And now...now I’m here.”

“...You said this happened a few days ago, right? What year do you think it is?” Fig asked.

“Huh? Isn’t it 2015?”

“Adaine, it’s 2019. It’ll be 2020 in a couple months. Here, look.”

Fig grabbed her phone from where it sat charging. Turning on the lock screen, she showed Adaine the date; October 26, 2019. Adaine stared at it for a moment, mouth agape and eyes wide.Slowly, a sense of dread began to fill the room. Fig felt it deep in her chest, a feeling that she was familiar with. 

“A-Adaine, what....?”

Fig’s heartbeat and thoughts raced, making hard to concentrate on anything. Looking at Adaine, she seemed to be experiencing something similar.

“No, that can’t...Where....Why wasn’t I…?” she breathed, backing away from the phone. Tears welled up in her eyes as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. Fig felt like she was about to have a panic attack. She couldn't deal with this feeling, not anymore, not again. 

“Adaine...Adaine, stop!” she called as her shaking hand dropped her phone. As it hit the ground, Adaine seemed to snap out of it. She took her hand off of her mouth, taking a breath as she did so. As if that breath had sucked that strong emotion out of the air, Fig felt herself relax. Her breathing returned to normal, and her heartbeat slowed. In the relief, Fig fell back and sat on the bed.

“Wh...What the hell was that?” Fig asked, hand on her now aching head. 

“I...I don’t know. I think I…” Adaine looked down at the phone, and watched as the screen turned black. “...I don’t know.” 

Fig closed her eyes for just a moment, since even the low light coming from Adaine was enough to make her head hurt more. When she had to purposely and consciously open her eyes again to stop herself from falling asleep right there, she realized just how exhausted she was. A yawn escaped her. 

“I...I’m gonna go. You seem tired, and I...I’ll see you again tomorrow, if that’s alright.” Adaine said, voice soft and sad.

Fig didn’t say anything, instead reaching for her earbuds and phone off of the ground. She felt a leftover pang of sadness in her chest as Adaine silently walked away, phasing through the door as she left. 

As smooth bass and pounding drums played softly her ears, Fig tried to think about the situation. She knew Adaine couldn’t be real. She knew that ghosts weren’t real. And yet, some part of herself felt otherwise. Maybe it was wishful thinking, hoping for something new and exciting to appear suddenly and change her life for her. But, it's not like that ever stopped her from hoping before.


	3. Passing Through

Fig was alone, she was sure of it. Sandralynn had already left for work, Baxter was asleep at the bottom of the stairs, and Adaine was no longer in or around her room. Confident that last night was just some strange hallucination or dream or whatever, Fig went downstairs to make some coffee.

Written on the kitchen wall in something dark red and dripping was a message.

‘Good morning. Last night you seemed very afraid of me, rightfully so. If you wish to try again today, just shout and I’ll come see you. If not, I’ll leave your house completely and go somewhere else.

Sincerely, Adaine Abernant.’

Fig just stared at the message, far too groggy for this. She stepped up to the message, ran a finger across it and, yup, it was real and still very wet. Gross. With a sigh, she considered what to do.

“...Adaine?”

Phasing through the floor, Adaine appeared at Fig’s side faster than she expected.

“Hello Fig!” Adaine said far too quickly with a far too wide smile. She seemed incredibly nervous. 

“Jeez!” 

Fig jerked away from Adaine. Adaine’s smile fell into a fear grimace.

“Oh! Oh my God I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Adaine exclaimed. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m just...you’re...Jesus Christ you’re actually real.” Fig muttered, trying to stay calm.

“Yes? Of course I’m real. I thought you already knew that.” 

Fig just glanced between Adaine and the message on the wall. She took a breath and palmed her eyes.

“Right, yeah, of course you’re real. Of course.” she dragged her hand off of her eyes. “I’m gonna make some coffee. Do you want any? Can you have any? I don’t...I don’t know how this works.”

“I don’t think I can drink anything anymore, but thank you for the offer.” 

With a nod, Fig began to make her coffee. As the coffee machine warmed up, she looked back at the message.

“...Is that blood?” Fig asked. Adaine looked at the message, and cocked her head slightly.

“Um, maybe? I’m not sure, to be honest. This is the first time I’ve tried using this power.” she admitted.

“Can you, like, wash it off? It’s cool and all, but if someone saw this, they’d think that I was murdered.”

Adaine raised a hand to the message and tried to wipe it away. Instead, a new, wide line covered the words.

“Okay, so I can’t do that. Good to know.” she said to herself. With a small groan, Fig grabbed a rag from beside the sink and went to clean the wall. 

As Adaine watched Fig approach, she tensed. 

“...Sorry for annoying you.” Adaine muttered, voice small and dull. Her expression was blank, though it was clear that she was suppressing something underneath. When Fig it, her face softened.

“Hey, it’s fine. Honestly, I’ve cleaned blood off of so much shit, this is nothing.” she explained. Adaine’s face relaxed, and she nodded.

“So, besides the obvious, what kind of stuff can you do as a ghost? Can you, I dunno, possess people?” Fig continued. 

“I’ve never tired, but...I think so?” she looked at Fig and stepped closer. “Do you mind if I test it out on you? It’ll be quick, I promise.”

Fig took a step away from Adaine. “Uh, no. No thanks. I like being able to control my body.”

“Fair.” Adaine said. “But, other than that, there’s one other thing. Watch the light.” 

Fig looked up at the ceiling light for the kitchen, which was currently off. The morning light was enough to see just fine with. Adaine held out a hand, closed in a fist. She stared at the light, really focusing on it, then opened her hand. The light flickered before turning on. Fig gasped quietly.

“Oh, now that’s cool! Can you turn it off too?” she asked excitedly.

“Sure, probably!” 

Adaine closed her fist again. As she did, the light flickered, but so did every other light in the house. Then, all at once, everything electronic lost power. 

“Uh.” Fig said, looking around.

“Woops.” Adaine exclaimed. She opened her fist again, but everything remained off. She tried a few more times, but nothing happened. 

“Okay, um, I’m sure we can fix this...How do we fix this?” Adaine asked.

“I’ll...Alright, once I finish cleaning this and have my coffee, I’ll check the breaker.” Fig said. 

“Um, sorry again. I didn’t think...I wasn’t thinking. Sorry.” Adaine repeated. 

“I told you, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize for accidents like this. I’m not mad.” Fig told her.

“I know, I know, but…” Adaine frowned. “It’s just a habit I picked up from being around much more...intense people.”

Fig wanted to ask about those people, but she stopped herself. It seemed like a sensitive topic, something Adaine would bring up on her own terms if she ever wanted to share. She didn’t want to pry and potentially ruin what little she had with Adaine already. Instead, she just nodded and continued cleaning. After the blood (?) had been washed away and Fig finished making her coffee, there was a knock at the door, accompanied by a shout.

“Hello? Anybody home?”

Adaine glanced at Fig, who could only shrug back. She wasn’t expecting anyone over today, and she didn’t recognize the voice. The knocking continued.

“Who’s house is this? We just wanna talk! Open up!”

Fig forced herself to open the door. On the other side were three men, probably around her age. One shoved a camera in her face, while another held up a microphone. The third was away from the door, instead standing in the lawn with some sort of device that was beeping incessantly.

“Oh, you are home! That’s great. Would you mind telling all of us your name, Miss?” the man with the microphone asked.

“Wh-What? No! Why the hell are you filming me?” Fig shouted, pushing the camera away. 

“Oh! Sorry, how rude of me, heh. I’m Biz, that’s my man Skrank, and over there’s Shellford. We are Abnormal Ventures!” 

Oh God, ghost hunters.

“Okay, hi, that’s great. Why do you need to talk to me?” Fig muttered, placing a hand over the camera as Skrank tried to continue filming her. 

“Ah, well, allow me to explain.” Biz looked over his shoulder at the lawn. “Shellford! C’mere! This lady would like to see what we’re doing!”

Shellford, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else on the planet than here, slowly approached and handed the beeping device to Biz. 

“Now, I don’t want to bore you with the technicalities. The important part is that this noise means that there are abnormalities within a certain radius. The second we got close to your house, this thing started going off like crazy, meaning there’s something going on in there that we just gotta check out.” Biz explained. 

“Are...Are you asking me to let you, a bunch of strange men I don’t know, into my house?” Fig asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well, I mean, I guess that’s one way to put it.” Biz replied sheepishly. “Think of it more as, like, a bunch of nice guys coming for a visit. And hey, best case scenario, we also get rid of the ghosts in your house.”

As Fig stood there, dumbfounded, Adaine approached from behind. She had run in to her fair share of creepy guys while she was alive, so she wanted to make sure that Fig was safe. When she got closer, the beeping from the machine Biz was holding got faster, to the point that it almost sounded like one prolonged sound. 

“Whoa! I-It must be closer now. Come on, you gotta let us inside, now!” Biz exclaimed. He began moving forward, with Skrank and Shellford following. Fig tried to cover the entrance and push them away, but they didn’t seem to care. 

“Hey, stop! Fuck off!”

Suddenly, from the road out front, came the rev of an engine and a shout.

“Excuse me? And just what do you think you’re doing?”

Sitting on his motorcycle with a bemused expression on his face was Fabian. The ghost hunters stopped pushing and stared back at him. Biz looked a bit nervous, but tried his best to hide it.

“Look, buddy, we’re not looking for trouble-”

“Should’ve thought about that before trying to barge into my friend’s house! Now, step away from the door.”

Skrank glanced nervously from Biz and Fabian before leaning down close to Biz.

“Dude, we should go.” he whispered. Biz looked up at Skrank, nodded, and turned to face Fig one more time.

“I guess we’ll have to drop by later, huh? Au revoir, Mademoiselle.” Biz said with a short bow before he and his friends ran off. 

“That’s not even who you pronounce it!” Fig yelled after them. Adaine flipped them off, despite the fact that they couldn’t see her. Fabian watched them leave, making sure that they weren’t coming back, before getting off of his motorcycle and approaching the door himself.

“So, what the hell was that all about?” he asked.

“They thought there was a ghost in my house for some reason.” Fig sighed. Adaine chuckled awkwardly, looking down at the ground. In a quick motion, Fig caught her eye and smiled, letting Adaine know that everything was okay. Adaine smiled back. 

“What a bunch of assholes. Next time you see them, give me a call and I’ll chase them away.”

Fig put the back of her hand against her forehead and leaned dramatically on the door frame. 

“Oh, Fabian, my hero! Just what would I do without you! I think I’ve fallen for you...” she joked before bursting out into laughter. Fabian snickered.

“Oh, I know, I’m just so perfect. I’ve only been here a couple years, and already I’ve got the whole town swooning for me.” he said with a wide smile “Anyway, I’m here to pick you up. You’re not busy, are you?”

“Course not. Just let me grab my shit.” Fig responded. As Fig closed the door and began to gather her things, Adaine was looking out the window, inspecting Fabian. 

“So, I dunno if you want to stay here or come along, or if you even can come along, or what, but I'm cool with whatever.” Fig explained. 

“I...I’ll come along. I’d like to learn more about this town, and the best way to do that is to get out and see it.” Adaine said. 

“Cool. Let’s go then!”

Marching out the front door, Fig lead Adaine outside. Fig sat on the back of Fabian’s motorcycle, putting on the spare helmet and wrapping her arms around his waist. Adaine opted to sit on the handlebars, crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap as if she was at the office and not speeding down the town’s roads. As they rode, Adaine intensively scanned the area, sometimes stretching her neck as far as it would go in an attempt to see buildings that were father away. A part of Fig thought it was endearing, seeing someone so excited about something she had known for all her life. Fig felt something else too, but she couldn’t quite place it. Not yet, at least.


	4. Old News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall, sorry for the wait! Ive got a few writing projects (plus life stuff) that got in the way of updates, but its finally out! Also, I know this is a aberfaeth fic, but id like to thank brennan for the figayda excellence of last night! i love ayda so much its unreal lmao <3

Feeling the wind race past them and watching the buildings fall further and further away, Fig and Fabian rode through Elmville. The streets were mostly empty, but that was normal here. Even at this time during the day, the town was just as sleepy as always.

Fig would’ve called the ride “nice” but, well, Fabian was kind of terrible at riding his motorcycle. His stops were abrupt and his turns were too sharp, nearly enough to knock them both off. He would drift to the wrong side of the road without checking, just because he could, and would often want to try crazy stunts off of whatever was around. It took everything in her to convince him that, no, he should not try to “Teen Wolf” on to his motorcycle from some ridiculous height. Even Adaine had trouble keeping her balance with Fabain’s reckless driving.

“Maybe I should possess him. I’ve never driven a motorcycle, but I bet I could still do better than this.” Adaine suggested, glaring down at Fabian. Fig desperately mouthed “no” at her. 

Fabian took them out of town, down old roads and past farms with growing crops and livestock. Small hills and steady plains seemed to stretch forever and beyond, surrounding them with flowing grass and open sky. 

“Where the hell are you taking us?” Fig shouted over the sound of the engine. 

“To be honest, not sure. I’m just following Gorgug’s directions.” Fabian responded. 

“Y’know, if y’all are trying to murder me, you’re doing a pretty shitty job at it.” Fig said. 

“Don’t worry, that’s not the plan.” Fabian took a sharp turn down a gravel road. Fig had to duck and lower her head to avoid all the sand and small rocks flying at her face. Fabian didn’t seem to care. “I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

After a few more minutes of driving, Fabian finally stopped in front of some large, wooden board with some chips of faded white paint. Parked beside them was Gorgug’s van, with some stuff Fig couldn’t really see in the back. Kristen and Riz were up by the board, giving it a new coat of white paint, while Gorgug was farther back, messing with a projector. Fig stepped off of the motorcycle.

“Hey guys!” Kristen called, her face and clothes streaked with white paint. Riz, who was at the top of a precarious looking ladder, waved without even looking at them. 

“Hey, yeah, uh, where the fuck are we?” Fig asked. 

“Oh, so you don’t know about this place?” Gorgug said, looking up from the projector. “This is the old drive-in theater.”

“Okay, but...why? Why are we here?” she continued. 

“Well, I was thinking about, y’know, fixing it up. My parents were telling me about how they came out here all the time before the old owners abandoned it, so I thought I’d check it out and see what I can do.” Gorgug explained.

“But why do you care?” Fabian questioned. “What, do you want to open it up again? Do you think people would even care about this place?” Gorgug shrugged.

“I dunno. I just...It’s not that I don’t have faith in the band, or anything, but I thought this could be a nice backup, y’know? Something cool and maybe profitable that we could do together.” he said, looking a little embarrassed.

“Together? So, what, is this a business? Are you paying us, or is this free manual labor?” Fabian continued. “Because I don’t work for free. Not even for you, Gorgug.”

“Fabian, you’re the only one here who has any money to speak of.” Riz shouted, finally looking away from the board. “Don’t be a dick and help out. At least then you’ll be doing something besides looking at porn all day.” 

“Hey! I’ll have you know, I have many hobbies!” Fabian shouted back. Fig just looked over at Gorgug, contemplative. 

“...Y’know, I don’t think it’s very OSHA compliant to have Riz up there. Plus you’re not paying your employees...pretty shady business you’re running here, Mr. Thistlespring. I just might have to report you to my executives.” Fig joked, trying to keep a straight face. 

“Everyone’s gonna get paid once we start making money, I promise.” Gorgug argued.

“That’s what they all say. You’re just another dirty rotten scammer.” Fig huffed, looking away in disgust before stifling a laugh. 

“...I also brought some booze.” Gorgug added, nodding his head towards the van.

“Now we’re talking!”

Gorgug returned to working on the projector as Fig approached the van and took out a bottle from the cooler. It was at that moment that she realized that Adaine wasn’t around. Fig scanned the area before noticing her in the distance, wandering in the field behind the board. After making sure that no one was watching, she followed. 

They walked far into the field, so far that Fig could no longer hear the voices of her friends. After a while, Adaine stopped walking, and just stared down at the ground. 

“...Adaine?” Fig asked. Adaine jumped in surprise.

“Fig! I-I didn’t notice you.” Adaine stammered. “What are you doing out here?”

“I should be asking you that. Are you okay?” 

Adaine tried to smile, but Fig could tell it was fake. 

“I’m fine, really. You should go back to your friends.” she suggested. Fig frowned.

“You do realize you’re one of my friends, right? Are you actually okay? Because it doesn’t look like it.” Fig insisted. Adaine’s smile fell.

“You think that we’re friends? We’ve known each other for less than a day, and I’ve spent most of that time bothering you.” Adaine said. 

“Can’t see why that should stop me. Do you not feel the same way?”

Adaine thought for a moment, seemingly taken off guard by the question.

“...I suppose I wouldn’t mind.” she answered. 

“That’s a real noncommittal answer.” Fig commented. “But, for real, what’s going on?”

Adaine looked back down at the ground, lowering herself and sitting on her heels. Fig kneeled down beside her and took a swig from her drink. 

“I...I’m not sure if this is the spot exactly, but I know it was around here. I remember it.” Adaine looked behind her, back at the drive in theater. “I saw the theater right before I died. That part...I remember that part clearly.”

Fig was taken aback. 

“Wait, this...this is where you died?”

Adaine nodded. 

“I’m certain it was around here.” Adaine looked at Fig out of the corner of her eye before lowering her head slightly. “Can I...Do you know who Anguin and Elianwyn Abernant are?”

“I’ve heard those names before, but I don’t know anything about them. I’m guessing those are your parents or something?” Fig responded.

“Yeah...You probably don’t know how they reacted to all this then, do you?”

“No, but they were your parents, so they were probably really upset.” 

Adaine scowled. 

“You’d think…” she muttered. “They...My father’s an ambassador, and my mother is a university professor. They were...strict, to put it nicely.”

Adaine watched the grass sway through her fingers before squeezing her hand into a fist.

“Actually, you know what? Let’s not put it nicely. They were neglectful assholes who didn’t care about me. At their best, they ignored me and at their worst, they complained about any little thing I did that they found ‘out of line’ or whatever. Even after doing everything they wanted and working as hard as I could to meet their expectations, I was always second to my sister.”

“You had a sister? Was she any better?” Fig asked. Adaine laughed, dry and humorless. 

“God, no. In some ways, she was worse. She was always perfect, perfect grades, perfect friends, perfect personality. She mocked me for it, too. Always reminding me about what a failure I was and how much better than me she was. Sure, she snuck out more often than she stayed home and sure, she was doing all sorts of drugs and sure, she almost got arrested once, but who cares! She couldn’t possibly do anything wrong, not our perfect little Aelwen. Surely this is somehow your fault, Adaine, just like everything else!” Adaine ranted, face full of rage and tears poking out of the corners of her eyes. Once she finished, she let out a strangled sob and raised a hand to her eyes, shutting them tightly as she tried not to cry. 

Fig’s face fell in to a look of pity and disbelief. She tried to think of something, anything to say, but her mind was blank. Instead, she reached out towards the hand Adaine had left on the ground to steady herself, and put her own hand through it. At the sudden touch, Adaine uncovered and opened her eyes, looking at their hands, and then at Fig.

“I...I’m so sorry you had to deal with those assholes. You didn’t deserve any of that.” Fig whispered, meeting Adaine’s stare. Adaine sniffled.

“You don’t have to apologize. But, still, thank you. And you’re right, I...I really deserved better than those pricks.” Adaine agreed, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. 

“...Fig?”

Both Fig and Adaine quickly turned around to find Kristen standing there, looking confused. As Fig turned, she spilled her half empty bottle onto the ground.

“Uh, yeah, what? Hi.” Fig stammered, trying to quickly think of a convincing excuse for why she was out here. 

“Are you, like, okay? Riz saw you sitting over here, talking to yourself or something? I came by to-” she glanced over and saw the bottle. “Oooh. Okay, I get it. I guess you do get a bit mopey when you’re drunk, huh?”

Fig nodded, taking the free excuse. She even wobbled and slurred her speech slightly to seem more convincing.

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” she mumbled. 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.” Kristen said, holding out a hand. “You’re lucky we’re taking a lunch break right now anyway.”

Fig grabbed Kristen’s hand and hoisted herself up. Adaine watched Fig’s hand leave her own, and secretly wanted it back. She hesitated a moment, looking back at the spot where she may have died, then started following the other two back to the drive-in theater. She felt empty, but in a good way. It was the first time she was able to speak about her home life truthfully, and it felt nice to let some of it out to someone she was beginning to trust.


	5. Sunfall

The sun was high in the sky, partially obscured by large white clouds. The Bad Kids were sitting beside the van, eating store bought sandwiches and emptying the few bags of chips Gorgug had brought along. Fig’s phone was at her side, playing some old rock music. Adaine was listening to it attentively.

“Y’know, I…” Adaine mumbled, bobbing her head along to the rhythm slightly. “I’ve never really gotten the chance to listen to this kind of stuff before. I don’t know if I like it yet.”

“-and she lives with her uncle, who’s, like, nice? Like, I like him, but he’s also a crazy drug dealer who’s currently under house arrest? But he seems like a good dude, I think.” Kristen rambled. Fig wasn’t really paying attention. 

“Does, uh, what’s-her-name like living with him?” Gorgug asked.

“Oh, yeah, Tracker loves him. He takes good care of her, at least from what I’ve heard. He’s just in a bad place right now, which is, y’know, relatable.” Kristen said. “Oh, hey, by the way, how’re you and Zelda doing? I haven’t seen her around much.”

“She’s fine. Mostly she’s been focusing on helping her parents out with work around the bar and whatnot. We’re still, like, hanging out and going on dates and stuff.” he responded. 

“That’s good. Hey, maybe you could work at the bar with her! Her parents like you, right? I’m sure they'd hire you.” Kristen suggested.

“I mean, yeah, I guess I could, but I dunno. It’s not that I hate the idea, but her parents are a bit...much, y’know?” he said.

“Yeah, I guess. Totally unlike your parents, with their giant sex binder, right?” Kristen joked, nudging Gorgug with her elbow. Gorgug sighed.

“We got rid of that thing years ago…”

“Doesn’t mean I’ll let you live it down though!”

Fabian, who had so far ignored his food and the conversation altogether, picked up his sandwich and glanced around the small area everyone was sitting in. After a second, he looked back to the board, and frowned.

“The Ball?” he called out.

Riz, who was still up on the ladder painting, looked down at the others.

“You want this?” Fabian yelled, holding up his sandwich. 

“Yeah, sure.” Riz yelled back before returning to his work. 

Kristen looked at Riz, then glanced at the time on her phone.

“He’s been up there for a few hours. You’d think he’s come down by now.” she muttered, concerned.

“I’m sure he’s fine. He knows his limits.” Fabian said nonchalantly.

“Oh? He could’ve fooled me. I don’t even know the last time he went to sleep.” Kristen argued. 

“I’m well aware. He’s sure to send me updates in the middle of the damn night, every night. I have to turn off my phone if I want to sleep at all.” Fabian responded.

“Why don’t you just ask him to stop messaging you?” Gorgug asked. 

“I have. But, frankly, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m used to it, and at least it’s funny. I mean, some of the stuff he sends me is, truly, incomprehensible.” he said, voice shaking with a small chuckle. “One time, he was ranting about Porter? For some reason?”

“Oh, yeah, that was for me.” Fig chimed in while pulling out and lighting a cigarette.

“You still don’t trust that guy, huh? You were, like, his favourite student.” Kristen commented.

“Yeah, well, he’s sketchy as shit. He was way to calm about what happened in the cafeteria on our first day.” Fig explained.

“Just because he’s calm doesn’t mean he’s a criminal.” Kristen said.

“Three people almost died! Most of us were unconscious! You’d think there’d be some reaction.” Fig ranted, pausing to smoke. “Hell, even Aguefort cared, and Aguefort doesn’t care about anything.”

“To be fair, we did need someone with a level head there.” Gorgug said.

“Well, he was too level headed! Suspiciously level headed.”

“You weren’t even there! You’re just basing this on what Riz told us.” Kristen argued, giggling.

“So? You weren’t there either!”

Kristen just put her head in her hands, giggles turning into full on laughter.

“Jesus Christ Fig.” she breathed, dragging her hands off of her face. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you about this, you’re fucking wasted.”

“That doesn’t matter! I’m still right!” Fig cheered.

“Y’know what? Sure. If you say so.” Kristen caved. 

As the conversation slowed, the sense of peaceful happiness did not fade. Kristen pulled out her phone, gaining a small smile and a light blush as she messaged Tracker. Gorgug stared up at the old, faded sign of the drive-in theater, tapping his fingers to the dirt to the beat of a song Fig didn’t yet recognize. Even Fabian let out a soft snicker as he read through some of Riz’s old late night messages. 

As Fig beamed at her cheap victory, she felt at ease. This, this time with her friends, working together and making something their own, sticking together and loving each other despite it all, this was something Fig didn’t want to give up. As much as the stagnant, quiet and forgotten town of Elmville was a prison of sentimentality for Fig, it was still the only place on the planet where she could feel like this.

The creaking and snapping of wood caught everyone's attention. A piece of the board, the piece that Riz and the ladder had been resting against, had broken off. For a moment, all anyone could do was watch Riz desperately try to find something solid to steady himself with, but it was no use. The ladder fell, Riz with it, behind the board and on to the hard dirt.

“Oh my God, Riz!”

Kristen was the first one up and running, with the others close behind her. Behind the board, they found Riz laying on the ground with pieces of wood all around him. One arm was bent and a terrible angle, and some part of his head was bleeding. His face was scrunched in pain. He tried to bring himself up, but his head swayed. For a moment, he looked up at his friends with an odd expression before falling unconscious.

The next few minutes were a blur. Kristen, the only one with any medical knowledge to speak of, tried her best to keep calm and direct the others on what to do, though the panic behind her eyes and the quickness of her voice gave away just how affected she was. Fabian carried Riz back to the van as Gorgug and Fig scrambled to pack up all the paints and tools, opting to leave most behind in the rush. Once everyone piled into the van, Gorgug took off down the road, much faster than his usual slow and careful driving style. Fabian was at the front as well, talking to someone on the phone. There was an edge to his voice, one that Fig hadn’t heard since their sophomore year spring break. Riz was laid out on the middle seat, with Kristen wrapping her hoodie around his head in an attempt to slow the bleeding. 

Fig sat in the back, shaken. There wasn’t much she could do to help. She watched as Adaine approached Riz, laying a hand on his broken arm, hoping to at least numb some pain. After a while, Riz opened his eyes.

For less than a second, there was a flash of fear on his face as he stared ahead of him, right where Adaine sat. He blinked, and the fear faded and turned to confusion. 

“Wh...What? What’s…”

“It’s gonna be alright. We’ll be at the hospital soon, I promise.” Kristen assured. 

“No...no, no, not the hospital. I can’t...We can’t afford it…” Riz mumbled, shaking his head slightly. That small movement was enough to make him wince in pain.

“Don’t worry about that.” Fabian said over his shoulder with a hand over the phone. He returned to his call before elaborating. 

Riz tried to argue, but the thoughts fell apart in his head. He just sighed and gripped his chest, waiting for the pain to subside.


	6. Until Something Bleeds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look who's back! Sorry for being gone so long, life's been busy and I've been tired. But, luckily for all of us, I've got my motivation back, so expect me to be a bit more active then I've been as of late. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for sticking around! <3

The faint hum of the lights overhead may as well have been blaring sirens. The hospital hallways were quiet, almost painfully so. No one was talking as they waited to be let into Riz’s room. Fig couldn’t stand it.

“...Remember Dr. Asha?” she asked.

“Unfortunately.” Fabian grumbled. 

“You aren’t still talking to him, are you?” Kristen said, looking apprehensive.

“Nah, I dropped him a couple years back.” Fig explained. “That police chief back in Bastion City though…”

“Fig!” Kristen groaned, putting her hand to her face.

“What? He’s a pig, it’s perfectly moral to scam him of all he’s worth.” Fig argued. 

“Excuse me?”

The nurse, who had just left Riz’s room, tried his best to look polite as he caught the group’s attention.

“Visitors are welcome now. You can come in.”

Streams of afternoon light shone through Riz’s window and across the room as they entered. There was a cast on his arm and a bandage on the side of his head. Riz looked over once they entered, expression sour.

“I can’t be here.” he muttered.

“I told you not to worry about it.” Fabian said, nudging Riz’s legs out of the way so he could sit on the bed. Riz winced.

“Easy for you to say, you rich prick. I can’t afford a fucking hospital visit. We can barely afford food.” Riz continued, shifting to a more comfortable position.

“I know that. That’s why I’m taking care of it.” Fabian gestured to his phone. “I’ve already set everything up, so you can’t talk me out of it.”

Riz stared at Fabian for a moment, mouth agape and brows furrowed.

“...What?” he exclaimed in the way he did whenever he was so confused he couldn’t fathom an answer. “You...No! What? No.”

“The Ball, what did I say?”

“No, no, this...you’d never do this! What have you done with the real Fabian?”

Fabian placed a hand on his chest, feigning offence.

“The Ball! How dare you! You know, for someone who claims to be my best friend, you don’t know me at all.” he huffed.

“You are my best friend! That’s how I know this is wildly out of character!”

“Ahem.”

Poking his head into the room, the nurse gave a pointed look at Fabian and Riz.

“Please keep it down in here.”

As the nurse left, Fabian and Riz continued to bicker through sharp whispers. Kristen put a hand on Fabian’s shoulder.

“Guys? Let’s not argue right now, okay? Let’s just be chill.” she suggested.

Riz looked like he'd rather do anything but chill, but a surge of pain in his chest caused him to give it up. 

“Fine, fine. Only because everything hurts, okay? Once I can focus again, I’m gonna sue Fabian.”

“Why the hell are you suing me? Sue Gorgug, he put you up there!”

“I did that willingly, Gorgug didn’t make me. You, on the other hand, are causing me emotional distress.”

“Emotional distress?”

“You two are so fucking stupid.” Fig sighed into her hands. Adaine sat beside her on the arm of the chair, looking mildly distraught.

“Are they always like this? This is exhausting.” she said. Fig gave a small nod.

Riz’s phone buzzed softly on the side table next to him. He stared at the notification with a scowl for a moment, considering what to do.

“...You guys should go. I gotta take care of this.” he muttered, unlocking his phone and typing something out.

“Are you sure? Can’t you do it with us here?” Gorgug asked.

“No, I...I just need to focus on this.”

“I thought you couldn’t focus because of, y’know, the broken ribs.” Kristen commented. “C’mon, you shouldn’t be working right now. Take a break.”

“Once I finish this, I’ll stop. But this can’t wait.”

Kristen rolled her eyes and took Riz’s phone.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, reaching for it. Kristen held it out of reach.

“Whatever it is, it can be done later. You need a break, now.”

“No! Give it back!”

“Yes! Y’know, if you had taken a break with us earlier, you wouldn’t even be here. You need to rest!”

“I’m fine, really! You don’t need to be babysitting me, Kristen!”

In her hand, the phone buzzed again. Kristen looked at the screen and cocked her head.

“Who’s Kalina?” she asked.

Something behind Riz’s eyes changed. His expression was hard to read, but it was obvious that something was wrong. He pushed himself up, snatched the phone from Kristen’s hand, and fell back against the bed with a groan. He hissed out a breath as his ribs throbbed in pain from the sudden movement.

“Please...Please just leave me alone. I’ll call the nurse and kick you guys out if I have to. Just go.” he said bitterly. Kristen’s eyes widened as she took a step away from the bed. While Riz was often cold and harsh with the bullies and criminals the group had dealt with before, he was never like that with the group itself. However, there he was, glaring daggers at them, waiting for them to make a move. Kristen opened her mouth, but stopped when Gorgug placed a hand on her shoulder.

“We should go.” he said softly. Kristen looked like she wanted to argue, but she stopped herself.

“...Yeah, okay.” she mumbled. 

“I, uh...I suppose we’ll come by and see you tomorrow?” Fabian asked. 

Riz didn’t respond. 

The ride home was quiet and tense. The radio was on, but Gorgug kept switching the stations, never letting one song play out. Fig tapped her foot incessantly, eager to get out of the van. The low speed and inconsistent sounds made her restless and anxious. Finally, they pulled up to her house. She said a brief goodbye to the others before pushing herself out and darting inside. It was only after she had closed the door behind her that she realized that the power was still off. Damn it.

“Ugh, right, I still need to fix this.” she muttered as she flicked a light switch back and forth. “Come on. Hopefully I can take care of this before Mom gets home.”

Adaine followed Fig down into the basement, which was completely dark aside from a few tiny windows just above ground level. The light from the windows and Adaine’s glow was enough for Fig to find her way to the breaker and get to work on it. 

“...I like your friends.” Adaine said, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah, they’re cool.” Fig mumbled, mostly focusing on the breaker. “Uh, you don’t gotta answer if you don’t want to, but what we’re your friends like, back when you were alive?”

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t have many. In fact, I think there was only one person I could actually call a friend, if you don’t count my old pet frog.”

“I’d say the frog counts.”

Adaine chuckled. 

“Well then, I guess I had two friends.” her face fell as she continued. “There was this boy who I met by complete accident. He lived on the other side of town, and went to a completely different school, but I met him one night when the rest of my family had left town without me, over at the graveyard of all places.

“Why were you at the graveyard?”

Adaine shrugged.

“No one was around to stop me from going, and it was somewhere I hadn’t been before. He apparently hung around there quite often.”

“And what was this guy’s name?”

“Zayn Darkshadow.”

Fig tried to hold back her laughter, and failed. 

“Wait, ‘Darkshadow’? The guy who hangs out at the graveyard is named ‘Darkshadow’?” Fig asked. “How fucking emo can this guy get?”

“Goth, not emo. He made it very clear that he was goth.”

Fig just continued to laugh.

“Okay, okay, goth, got it. How the hell did you end up befriending this dude?”

“It turned out we had a lot in common. His caregiver was terrible, and he didn’t have any other friends, so he felt pretty isolated from the world. We started talking just because we had no one else to talk to, and it ended up working out for us.”

“Yeah, that...that sounds familiar.”

Adaine cocked her head. 

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, on the first day of school, all of us got detention. While we were waiting to be let out, we were attacked by the lunch lady, who was being manipulated by this local cult. Anyway, we fought her off, half of us almost died, and after that we just ended up sticking together.” Fig explained. She pulled on something, and the lights flickered back on. “Oh, cool, that worked.”

Adaine looked shocked.

“That’s...insane.” she said.

“I guess. That wasn’t even the craziest thing that happened that year, though. We were in jail for, like, a few months. And don’t even get me started on sophomore year, that was legit traumatizing.” Fig went on. 

“Fig...are you okay?” Adaine asked earnestly.

Fig stopped. She didn’t know how to respond. 

“...I mean, if you don’t count the paranoia, drug use, and incessant nightmares, then yeah, I’m fine.” she said with a forced smile. Adaine didn’t buy it.

“Fig, that...I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m okay, really. It built character, y’know?”

“Fig…”

Upstairs, Baxter began barking and whining.

“I guess I haven’t let him out today, huh? I better take him around the block. Come on.” Fig said, moving past Adaine and up the stairs. She watched her go, concerned.

“Adaine? You coming? Come on, it’ll just be a short walk.” Fig called from the top of the stairs.

“...Alright.” Adaine said, clearly wanting to talk more. Fig smiled down at her before running off to leash up Baxter.


	7. Closer Than The Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I just wanted to give a big thank you to all the kind comments this has been getting! I won't lie, my motivation's been fading a bit over the past few months, but you guys are sure to remind me that this fic is worth finishing, even if it takes a while lmao. anyway, i hope you all enjoy the chapter! <3

“I thought you said this would be a short walk.”

The orange glow of the sunset ran through Adaine, giving her an odd green tint. Fig, who had long since put in her earbuds, pulled one out.

“What?”

“Fig, you said this would be a short walk. Aren’t you tired? Shouldn’t we head home?”

Fig raised her eyebrows slightly before pulling out her phone and checking the time.

“Oh, shit, yeah, I guess it has been a while. Bet you’re getting tired, huh Bax?”

Baxter looked up at the sound of his name, his tongue dangling out of the side of his mouth as he panted. He still looked rather happy, though.

“Alright, let’s head back. Come on, this way.”

During the walk, Fig had led Adaine to a side of town she had not yet seen before. It was a bit more run down than the area Fig lived, with the train tracks running just behind some of the homes. The grass was dead and dry, and it crunched and cracked as Fig walked on it.

“...Y’know, Riz actually lives just nearby. I wonder if his mom’s still home, or if she’s still at the hospital.” Fig pondered. 

“It seemed like he didn’t want anybody there, so he probably sent her away too, right?”

“I mean, maybe.”

They continued to walk in silence as the power lines overhead swayed and the dry leaves scraped against the concrete as the gentle breeze pushed them along. The sky grew darker as they walked, even allowing some particularly bright stars to shine through.

Fig took a sudden turn towards the train tracks and gestured for Adaine to follow. 

“This way. It’s a shortcut.” Fig called back as she stepped over the tracks.

The shortcut led further away from the homes, leading out towards the edges of town and the big, empty fields that surrounded it. The only thing out here was an old church and a large, fenced off area. Even from this distance, Adaine could tell it was the graveyard. She stared at it for a moment, watching the leaves of the few trees within swayed with the breeze. As she got closer and closer, she felt something. Something welling up in her chest, a feeling of...something. Something she’d need a closer look at to fully understand. She began to move towards it and away from Fig. 

“...Adaine?”

Adaine paused and glanced behind her.

“Is...something happening?” Fig looked past Adaine. “You wanna go to Cravencroft?”

“I...I can go. You and Baxter can go home and rest, I’ll be back later.”

“You sure? My house ain’t too far from here, I can drop him off and catch up with you.” 

“But aren’t you tired?”

Fig shrugged.

“Not really. Besides, if it’s more creepy ghost magic, I’d love to learn about it.”

“Fig, you really should get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

Fig let out a dry chuckle.

“What are you, my mom? I’m fine, really. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Fig walked off before Adaine could say anything else. She watched her go for a moment, debating if she should follow her or continue towards the graveyard. When that feeling flared in her chest again, tempting her closer, she let it pull her away. 

The graveyard was empty, as far as Adaine could tell. The wind pushed the tall, dark gate back and forth, causing the clangs of metal to join the rustling trees and distant bird cries. She remembered the graveyard back in the city, back when she first snuck in there. She had to climb over the tall fence, ripping a good pair of jeans on her way out as she tried to go over the spiked polls. Now, she could just walk through the fence without hassle or notice. It admittedly took some of the fun out of sneaking into a place like this, but that was in the back of Adaine’s mind as she scanned the area, looking for the source of whatever she was feeling. 

As Fig approached her home, her phone vibrated in her pocket. 

“BeeGay: hey so has anyone talked to riz since the visit? i sent him a text earlier and he ignored me”

“F-A-Seacaster: Give him some space, Kristen. Ik you are worried, but I am sure he is fine.”

“BeeGay: thats what u said rite before he fell off the board and almost died! i just dont think hes doing ok he seemed really upset”

“skipper99: maybe hea just restong?”

“skipper99: *hes *resting sorry”

“BeeGay: i mean maybe but idk i think he needs help”

“BeeGay: like he usually at least reads the message but rn hes just completely ignoring it”

“skipper99: you kniw what, hes probanly talking to his mom rifht now, so that might be wgy he hasnt read it yet.”

“skipper99: *know *probably *right *wht”

“skipper99: **why UGH”

“BeeGay: gorg im begging u to get a bigger phone”

“skipper99: cant afford one :(“

“BeeGay: make fab buy 1 for u”

“BeeGay: hey @F-A-Seacaster u still there?”

“BeeGay: fabian?”

“F-A-Seacaster: Sorry, just got off the phone w/ Sklonda. She has not seen him. He was not in his hospital room for some reason?”

“BeeGay: wtf?”

“BeeGay: wait whyd she call u?”

“F-A-Seacaster: She assumed he was with me? He is not. No one seems to know where he went.”

“BeeGay: WTF?? hes fucking missing?????”

“skipper99: oh shit”

Fig froze. Baxter tugged on the leash, and Fig dragged her feet as she followed him to the house. 

“XxXS!GF!GXxX: im gonna look around for him. im already out of the house anyway.”

“F-A-Seacaster: Same. Lmk if you find him.”

“BeeGay: good call ill grab ragh and we can drive around town.”

“skipper99: ill drive ariund too”

“skipper99: *around”

Fig hurriedly let Baxter back inside and ran back to the graveyard to fetch Adaine. Any extra eyes would be super helpful in finding Riz. 

Meanwhile, Adaine wandered the graveyard, passing old and crumbling graves with engravings so faded she couldn't read any of it. That feeling was getting stronger by the second, and while it confused her greatly, it was also oddly comforting? She felt safe in some way, like someone was watching out for her. Sudden movement from the corner of her vision caught her attention. She saw a flash of something white flowing in the breeze, though it was gone just as quickly as it arrived. She felt compelled to follow it, and despite her best efforts, she did. 

Fig soon arrived back at Cravencroft, slightly out of breath. The caretaker had long since left, so Fig climbed up the fence and forced her way in. While she searched for Adaine, she could just barely hear the sound of footsteps further in. She did her best to follow them. 

In the very back of the cemetery, in a darkened corner, sat Riz. He was sitting in front of a relatively well taken care of grave, still in his hospital gown. He was swaying slightly where he sat, obviously weak. His eyes were tightly closed as he mumbled some words far too quiet to understand. Adaine stood behind him, the feeling at its strongest. It was coming from the grave he sat at, though she couldn’t understand why. Fig approached the scene. 

“Riz? What the hell are you doing out here?”

Riz’s eyes shot open. He whipped his head around to look at Fig, and even from her distance she could see the redness of his eyes. 

“...Fig?”

She took a step towards him, but he just crawled back away from her. He bumped into the grave, which made him stop in an instant. He looked down at the ground with unfocused eyes, breathing shallow breaths. 

“Hey, hey...it’s okay.” Fig said, raising her hands in front of her. “Are you okay, Riz? Everyone’s wondering where you went.”

Riz moved forward, returning to his original spot, though now facing Fig. He put a hand to his head and sighed.

“Yeah, I’m...I’m fine. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Can I come over there?”

Riz nodded, though he refused to make eye contact. Fig walked up next to him and sat down beside him while turned back around to face the grave. She was able to get a look at who’s it was. “Pok Gukgak, 1975-2009.”

“...Sorry.” Riz muttered.

“I said it was okay. You don’t need to be sorry.”

“Not for this. Sorry for snapping at you all earlier. Though, I guess I should’ve said that to Kristen huh?”

Fig shrugged.

“Honestly, it’s fine. I’ll admit, we were being pretty pushy.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t…”

Riz’s words trailed off. He picked at the dirt as he thought about what to say.

“...It’s been ten years, and I’m still not over it, I guess.”

Riz looked up at his father’s grave. Fig could see the dark bags under his eyes. 

“I thought I could just ignore it forever, y’know? Ever since he died, I’ve just been distracting myself with whatever work I could get my hands on, just so that I wouldn’t think about it. I guess it worked, for a while. But now…”

He reached beside him and picked up his phone. On the lock screen were multiple unread messages. Some were from Kristen or the group chat, but most were from a contact called Kalina.

“She’s a family friend who worked with my Dad. I never knew her that well during that time, but now she’s trying to reconnect with us. She’s coming to town in a few weeks, and ever since she got my number, she’s been trying to text me nonstop.”

“And you don’t want to talk to her?”

Riz frowned.

“Yeah.”

“Why not?”

“She’s...Ever since she stopped working with him, she’s been different. Again, I never really knew her, but from what I’ve heard, she’s been getting involved with...dangerous individuals. Remember the guys we ran into during sophomore spring break?”

Fig nodded. 

“She works with them. Even back then she was.” he continued. 

Beside him, his phone buzzed. Another message from Kalina popped up. Riz just scowled and locked his phone, flipping it so that he couldn’t see the screen. 

“I just...I really just don’t want to see her. Hell, even putting aside her job, I just don’t want to talk to her. She…”

Fig waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. Riz just shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused or frustrated. 

“...She reminds you of things you want to forget?” Fig finished for him. He looked over at her with an expression she couldn’t read. 

“I...Yeah, I guess.”

“Y’know, if you wanna crash at my place while she’s here, you can.”

Riz shook his head.

“No, that’s...that seems a bit drastic, doesn’t it? Like, everyone has family members they don’t want to see, but that doesn’t mean that they hide from them forever.”

“Right, because there’s no one we know who ran away from shitty family members.” Fig joked. 

“Kristen’s situation is different! Her parents were actually harmful.”

“And what, the lady who won’t stop messaging you and who works for the self proclaimed ‘Nightmare King’ is perfectly normal?”

Riz opened his mouth to argue some more, but he stopped himself. He shut his eyes and let out a huff through his nose. His hand came up to rub the side of his head as it ached. 

“Look, it’s just...it’s just different. You might not get it, since you’re not really involved, but it is.” he explained. Fig looked at him skeptically.

“Maybe you need someone who isn’t involved to look at this.”

Riz opened his eyes and looked at Fig, confused.

“What? Why?”

“Well, y’know how you message Fabian case details sometimes? And he doesn’t know anything about what you're talking about, but it still helps just to get it out of your head and somewhere else, with a completely fresh perspective? This is like that, kinda.”

Riz looked unconvinced. 

“Well, I’ve already told you what you need to know, your half of this is done already.”

“Not exactly.”

As Fig and Riz continued to talk, Adaine creeped forward and closer to the grave, investigating it. She ran a hand down the old stone, trying to find any hint to why it was emanating such a feeling. As she did, the grave moved ever so slightly. 

“I still haven’t actually given you my perspective. Which is that I don’t trust Kalina, and I don’t think you should be forced to hang out with, frankly, a stalker.”

“But-”

“But nothing! This isn’t a case you need to solve! This is just what you want and what’s best for you. You don’t have to overthink this, Riz.”

“Yes I do!”

Riz gripped the side of his head with a shaking hand, blocking Fig’s view of his face. Fig could hear his sharp, shuddering breaths as his panic set in.

“I can’t just stop, Fig! If I do, it all just starts falling apart. There needs to be something, something else for me to figure out, something else to solve, something else to do! Because…”

Fig could see tears hitting the dirt as Riz broke down. 

“Because if I don’t, I start thinking about my dad, and Kalina, and Penny, and all of this other shit that I can’t deal with. I can solve most cases, easy! But this stuff, they’re things I can’t fix. And...And I just hate it!” 

Fig watched Riz for a moment, stunned. Riz was never this emotional around them, even during some of their most stressful and scary moments. Fig brought a gentle arm around Riz’s shoulders, which he leaned into. She held him there, unsure of what to say, or if she should say anything at all. 

Just in front of them, a space above the grave began to glow a dull blue. Adaine watched as the glow gained shape, growing what looked like a head, arms, legs. Details began to appear, such as a handsome face and a well fitting suit. The man appearing glowed brighter and brighter, eventually catching Fig’s attention. She looked up, and to her surprise, so did Riz. Just like when Adaine first appeared, the ghost of this man had light pouring from his blank white eyes. In a blink, that light dissipated, leaving him sitting atop his own grave. Unlike Adaine, he smiled with a sense of familiarity in his eyes, like this was something he had done time and time again. 

Riz’s eyes were wide like saucers. He looked between the man and to his side, making eye contact with Adaine. She stared back at him, slowly realizing what was happening. The man began to speak with a smooth, deep voice. 

“Hey kiddo...it’s been a while, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alt title: riz has a panic attack so hard it gives him super powers.


	8. Tied Down

Riz was frozen, staring ahead with wide eyes. He almost couldn’t process what was happening. He slowly shook his head as his mouth struggled to form words. 

“Wh...What the fuck?” he mumbled.

“Riz, are you...Can you see them?” Fig asked. Riz flinched like he forgot that she was there. He kept his sight on the ghosts as he spoke to her.

“You’re seeing this too? This isn’t just me?” 

“Yeah, I...Yeah.”

The well dressed man pushed himself off of his grave and approached Riz. Riz leaned back slightly, but remained stuck in place. 

“It’s okay Riz...I’m not going to hurt you. You recognize me, don’t you?”

“You...This can’t be real. You’re dead.” Riz muttered. 

“I’m real, bud. I promise, this is all real.”

Adaine came to Fig’s side, keeping an eye on Riz. 

“He can see me. He couldn’t before, but now...Why can he see me?” she whispered, clearly confused. Fig didn’t have an answer. 

“Ah, sorry, where are my manners.” the man said, looking over at the girls. “My name is Pok Gukgak. I assume you two are friends of my son?”

“Uh, yeah. Well, I mean, I am. He hasn’t met Adaine before, but, y’know...And I’m Fig, by the way.” Fig stuttered. Riz looked between Pok and Fig, squinting his eyes. 

“Wait, why...Fig, why are you so calm?” he asked. “And who is that? Why is she here? What’s going on?”

“I’m Adaine Abernant. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gukgak. And you too, Riz.” Adaine said, extending a hand to Pok. He took her hand and shook it firmly. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Abernant.”

“Why am I the only one freaking out about this!” Riz called, glancing around frantically. “Like, am I going insane? What is happening?”

“Okay, Riz, uh…” Fig tried to concentrate. The situation was getting hectic, and she didn’t even understand most of it. “I’ll tell you everything I know, but we gotta get you back to the hospital, alright?”

“...Tell me first.” Riz said. “I’ll go back, but only after you tell me.”

“Fine. So, long story short, ghosts are real, I started seeing them recently, and now you can see them too, for some reason! This is Adaine, as in the murdered girl everyone's obsessed with, and now she lives in my house and is my friend.” Fig explained quickly, flashing a forced smile. Adaine waved at Riz, who awkwardly waved back. Pok’s eyebrows raised. 

“Oh, so this is still new to you. No wonder you seemed so surprised.” Pok mumbled. “Adaine, how long have you been dead?”

“A few d-” Adaine cut herself off, frowning. “No, uh, four years. But, I’ve been...unaware for most of that time.”

“So none of you really know much about this, huh? This all must be quite confusing then.” Pok said, looking at the group with a bit of pity. “Why don’t I tell you what I know on the walk back to the hospital? I’ve been at this for a while, and I’ve picked up a few things during that time.” 

Agreeing, the group went to leave the cemetery. Riz stayed close to his father’s side, despite the fear that still rested behind his eyes. He looked conflicted, occasionally glancing back at Fig and Adaine.

“...It’s still hard to believe.” he muttered, looking down at the ground. Pok placed a cold, noncorporeal hand on Riz’s shoulder. 

“I’d imagine. I’m sorry for being gone for so long.” Pok leaned forward, catching Riz’s eye. “It’s great to see you again, son.”

Riz could feel his eyes well up again. In a quick motion, he covered his face with his good hand and looked away. Pok just chuckled.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Y’know, I could hear you and your mom whenever you guys came to visit. This is nothing new to me.”

“To be honest, you’re taking this way better than I did.” Fig interjected. “Damn near tried to attack Adaine when she first showed up.”

“Fig? Maybe give him some space.” Adaine suggested. Riz took his hand off of his face and shook his head.

“No, no, it’s fine. Well, I mean, it’s not. This is a lot to take in and I’m still in a lot of pain, but, like…I don’t know. I think I feel a bit better?” he explained. 

“That’s good to hear. And speaking of pain…” Pok gestured to Riz. “What happened here?”

“...Fell.” Riz said simply, keeping the other details to himself. Pok looked at him for a moment before moving on.

“Must’ve been a pretty nasty fall. I’m glad you’re relatively okay, though.” Pok said. “Now, before I forget, I bet you all have some questions, yes?”

Fig thought for a second as they approached the cemetery fence. Pok and Adaine just went through the bars, while Riz was small enough to squeeze in between them, leaving Fig as the only one to climb over. Balancing at the top, she took a final look back at the rows and rows of graves. 

“...If there are so many dead people here, how come I can only see you two?” Fig asked as she came back down.

“Good question. It’s actually fairly rare for a person to become a ghost post mortem. They would need a strong tie to the world of the living to stick around.” Pok began to explain. 

“So, like, unfinished business?” Fig said.

“Sort of, though the truth is a bit less tangible. If, during the time of death, someone has a particularly strong emotional response, the power of that emotion becomes the foundation of their next form.” Pok continued. 

“Wouldn’t everyone have strong feelings about their own death?” Riz asked. 

“Well, yes, of course. But, in order to become a ghost, you need abnormally strong emotions. Something so strong that it won’t let you die, not completely. For instance, the emotion I am based on is love. Adaine, if my guess is correct, I’d say yours is fear?”

Adaine looked a bit taken aback. 

“What? How...I mean, I think so? But how could you tell?” 

“I felt it. I’m sure you did too, didn’t you? Earlier this evening, I felt this pang of anxiety that only grew stronger as you came closer. I’m sure I was having a similar effect on you, right?”

Adaine looked away and nodded.

“Yes, right...That was love?”

Something on Pok’s face faltered as Adaine said that. 

“Yes. While the entire thing is blur, I know it was the need to see my family again that kept me here. I don’t know how much you remember, but the fear of death might have done the same for you.” 

Adaine frowned.

“That’s...God, that sucks.” she groans.

“Oh? You think so?” Pok asked, looking a little confused.

“Yes! I mean, all my life I was anxious and scared, and now my entire existence is based on that fear? So, what, is that all I am? Just some coward?” she ranted, looking down at her hands with a look of disgust. “Fuck that! That sucks!”

Pok paused, not really sure what to say to that. Fig shrugged. 

“I don’t think you’re a coward. I mean, fuck, you’re braver than some people I know.” she said. “Like, if I had been murdered, you bet your ass I’d’ve just stayed dead. Not you, though. You’re still here, still trying. If that’s not brave, I don’t know what is.”

Adaine looked at Fig, eyes wide. Her expression was hard to read, but even Fig could tell that those words affected her in some way.

“...Thank you.” she said softly, almost sounding a bit surprised. 

There was an awkward moment of silence after that. Pok looked around at the other three before moving on. 

“So? Anything else you’d like to know?”

“...Adaine, you’ve been around Fig for the past day now, right?” Riz asked.

“That’s right. I’ve been by her side ever since she first saw me.” 

“Then why can I only see you now? What made me start seeing all this?”

“Well, as I said before, ghosts are based on death and the emotions surrounding it.” Pok began to explain. “So, for a living person to be able to see ghosts, they’d need to come into close contact with both of those things. In other words, a near death experience and a need for the emotion a certain ghost is based on in relatively quick succession. So, your fall was your near death experience, and you opening up to Fig revealed a need for love.” 

Riz looked a little embarrassed as he nodded along in agreement. When Fig heard that, though, she noticed an inconsistency.

“But...that makes no sense. When I saw Adaine, I was just sleeping. I wasn’t dying, and I didn’t need to be scared or anything, right?” Fig pointed out. “So, why can I see her?”

Pok furrowed his eyebrows, bringing his hand to his face as he thought. 

“That’s...You’re right, that makes no sense.” Pok looked back at Fig. “The only way this could work is if...well, if something did happen that night.”


End file.
